Friargate development

@ Dream.. we are all frumpy, getting on in years, distant memories of 130db of Black Sabbath.. We want something to do now which maybe is more cultural (not too much though) and doesn't wear us out way before the clock strikes midnight.. A mug of hot Ovaltine would be good... "Dou you want ice, slice and an umbrella in that, gal?"

@ McSporran.. if I see one more fashion store for the insanely skinny, one more fast food outlet, one more 'Dollar or more' store, I think that I will scream until I am sick. Where are the stores for the 'over-done'? Is this a store for the over-done? Holy crap, it's boring

@Not Local.. Not wanted? But the frontage is classic, it's huge, its magnificent, .... yes, it was old old and falling to pieces inside A million pounds might have put it right, but nobody wanted to spend a million on it. Convert it into a hotel? The Regent and the Clarendon were on their way out, so no, it had to go..

@Tony S.. The more time I spend here thinking about the issues raised, the more I believe that the problem isn't with Coventry City Centre or any other city centre. We are the problem because we don't take to change well, we are at an age when pub-crawling and being rowdy is beyond us, something we all remember doing except that the venues we knew and loved are something else now.

There is nothing for us, nothing slow enough or where we are not expected to just keep handing cash over in exchange for fun. We have financial commitments, grandkids, failing health and sense acuity. If I think back to the Coventry I knew, there would have been nothing for my parents, but I used to have great fun, but I couldn't cope with that pace anymore, so I sit at home, make the effort to do grocery shopping, call into one of Canada's famous Tim Horton's for tea and a doughnut, and that's me done for the day..

Business would never survive if we were the only customers. Ask any business owner why he/she trades at the lower ends, and you will get the same answer.. "This is where the money is"

Isn't that the definition of unwanted - If no-one is willing to spend the time or money to look after it? I'm sure plenty of people think it looks nice, just as there are plenty of people who think the 60's modern stuff and the 90's post-modern do. But if no-one is putting up the money to do anything about it and it's derelict and falling to pieces - yes it's unwanted. Convert it to a hotel? As you said it'd cost a fortune to do up, so you've got three options: 1. Do it on the cheap so it looks naff and you end up spending a fortune long term dealing with the problems that aren't fixed properly. Eventually it becomes more hassle than its worth and just gets left to rot and is why so many of them ended up in this state. If it's listed this isn't an option anyway because of the ridiculous stipulations 'preservationists' want 2.Charge people a fortune to stay there to cover the costs, which they won't be willing to pay, so you get no customers and the business fails. 3. Do a decent restoration and charge competitive prices, you don't make enough money to cover the huge loans and the business fails. The only way such things ever work is a rich person doing it up from their own wealth without the need to run it as a business. It's their folly. My issue when they pull stuff like this down is when they don't actually do anything with the land, but how long can something be derelict, inviting vandalism, squatting and stuff like drug use and essentially acting as a magnet for the wrong type of people, with the cost of potential restoration soaring, before it becomes part of the problem? If a more modern structure was in that state and causing such problems there would be almost immediate calls to destroy it. Perhaps it was the pub-crawling and rowdiness that put some stores off opening in Coventry I don't agree with your last point though - ask any business why they deal in the higher end and they'll tell you "This is where the money is" Much higher mark-ups. Rich people will spend a fortune on all sorts of rubbish. The only difference between "old junk" and "antique" is the price you can convince some mug to pay for it. The only reason businesses round here don't do that and don't open up here is because there aren't enough people with more money than sense for them to get away with it.

Old unwanted stuff was pulled down in Coventry to make the Ring Road. I would consider that good use of the land..

On the contrary, streets lined with businesses that were in use were pulled down to make way for the ring road.

From all that has been said on here I now see the Friargate Development as a field experiment: a guess at what might work for the benefit of the developer and the city when other post-war experiments have failed. To me it stems from former city leaders not allowing the railway into the city boundary. Perhaps if, during the initial post-war redevelopment, we had re-aligned the tracks and put Coventry Station on the site of Shelton Square and the bottom of Hertford Street then Friargate would be seen as a peripheral development.

That should read 'Also, streets lined with businesses that were in use were pulled down to make way for the ring road.'

Just to mention I noticed whilst riding in to the City Centre for the Heritage weekend on Sunday - theres a Demolition company sign gone up on the building over Eaton road to the station.... Will be interesting to see!

Friargate demolition starts big time alongside Coventry's junction 6

Station Tower is also being demolished in the future as well.

Wow - wheres that taken from lengward?

I'm looking forward to seeing the view from the station across where that building is when it's been fully demolished. I've always firmly believed the two problems of the train station - city centre route were that building and the first subway after it. The subway was got rid of as part of the 2012 development and now this should give a decent sightline for the route you would have taken across the bridge they've just removed. I think all the chances to the junction are completely unnecessary and the money for that would been much better spent doing the Swanswell Boulevard instead

Yes, there is currently a planning application (RM/2014/3122) up for consultation that involves the demolition of Station Tower. A quote from the relevant Friargate Coventry Phase 3 Planning Design and Access Statement (Sept 2014) is as follows: "The demolition of Station Tower is included in Phase 3 . This work interfaces with Station Square and the revised taxi area. Station Tower has been vacant for some time. Demolition will remove this unattractive feature of the station area and prepare future development plots . The demolition process will be subject to detailed discussion and agreement with Network Rail because it is close to operational station areas."

As per my post in the Coventry Pubs section - I have been in touch with someone in the Council and someone involved with the Friargate Project and The Rocket may not now disappear after all The platforms are being extended with the requirement for longer high speed trains - across on to the Goods Yard/Central 6 (why did they call it that?) side. They are looking at ways to incorporate the Rocket/Railway Hotel buildings in to a new 'side' entrance to the whole redeveloped area from Warwick Road. I have made them aware of this forum and our interest and theres even a hint of our input in to proposed ideas! Watch this space!

Hi Neil, why did they call what what?

Central 6 Tony. What's Central and 6 about it?